Pages

Tuesday, 3 November 2009

Sunny Spells and Scattered Showers

Some eejit left her car window open last night, during which it lashed with rain. The fields are flooded this morning and I have a mobile swimming pool- anyone who fancies doing a few laps before lunch is welcome to come on over before I begin bailing it out! Slight exaggeration, but I've a very wet bum!

As usual I've managed to get the photos in reverse order- the flooded field was meant to be first, then the tree against the sky and then the amazing sky-scape after the next paragraph: oh well!There's long been a joke in Ireland that when the RTE News and Weather people aren't sure what to forecast they just say 'There'll be sunny spells and scattered showers.' However the joke is frequently on us because its amazing just how many days in the year that forecast describes! Today is one of them, and in between the lashing rain there is beautiful sparkly sunshine.Mary Black sang a song called 'Sunny Spells and Scattered Showers' though I can't remember who wrote it. Anyhow my sister was at a Concert of Mary Black's in England several years ago and she said that when she sang that song she brought the house down there were so many Irish people in the house!

I was in School this morning doing the photocopying for tomorrow's teaching, and handing round timetables and suchlike- even if everything gets changed around later, I find it's easier to have times and places down on paper first. The Principal was laughing at me with all the bits of paper, including copies of the songs I decided on for the Little People, who are taught by two other teachers.Yesterday's comments were really kind, and interesting too if you want to look. As a sort of general answer, here's the background to the Music 'thing'!

I trained as a primary school teacher, with Music as my main subject, which in England, is pretty much like doing two degrees simultaneously- one in Education, and one in your main subject. I've taught on and off over the years as a Primary Class teacher, a Secondary school English teacher, and an all-over-the-place Class Music teacher. I have to admit that whatever I've begun as in any school I've always somehow ended up doing quite a lot of Music.

Over the years as my health (mental and physical) has gone down the tube I've had to give up general teaching, but I have clung to the Music. Since there is no provision in this country for part-time or subject teachers within the primary system I now teach Music on a voluntary basis in a local National School. The Principal is a school friend (the retired Principal remembers us both since we were five years old, and occasionally has the heebie-jeebies at what we are doing to her school!) and gives me a fairly free hand with the Music, and BOY! do I enjoy the ensuing chaos! I do chaos really well!!!

So once a week I go in to play the hymn for Assembly and teach the upper classes, and then scattered through the year I work them toward performances. From now until Christmas I'll be teaching two or three mornings a week preparing the children for the Carol Service, and later taking groups to sing at some of the Churches in town. I see it also as an opportunity to make Christianity alive for the children and for singing and Church to be a regular part of their lives. I love it, most of the time, but just now I am wrestling the 'black beast' so it comes harder to get on with my commitments.

Anyhow, there you have it. Photocopies of lists all over the place and working from three Music books. I typed up everything last night so am feeling terribly well organised...don't worry it's temporary!